A Wrench Behind The Petticoats
by Silicon2123
Summary: Myka taks HG to meet her parents, and odd times ensue! From the airport to the bookstore, Helena is always full of humor...until Claudia disappears.
1. Chapter 1

"This is a keyboard."

"Keyboard."

"…yeah. Keyboard."

"And what do I do with said keyboard?"

"Okay, so you see that each key has a letter?"

"Key?" "The little squares."

"How on Earth is that a key?"

"It's a key to…typing the letter? I don't know! Just go with it."

"Fine, fine. Don't get cross with me."

"I'm not cross with you! Ugh," Claudia sighed. "No offence, HG, but you're kinda hopeless."

"Believe me, dear, I invented a time machine. If anyone can learn to use a computer, it would be me. "

Claudia shrugged in agreement. "Can do, HG. Just keep practicing," she said with a small smile.

"Helena?" Myka called from downstairs.

"See you later, Claudia! It was a pleasure," HG said, shutting her new laptop and standing quickly. Claudia raised her hand in a goodbye gesture as Helena left the room.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs of Leena's B&B, Myka gave her a look and showed HG her watch.

"I thought we agreed on 1:30," Myka said annoyedly.

"So sorry, love. Claudia brought me a- oh what was it called – laptop! I was pecking at keys!"

"…you mean typing?"

"Exactly. It was marvelous."

Myka tucked a lock of hair behind Helena's ear.

"I love you. Did you know that?" she whispered. Helena gave an uncharacteristic giggle.

"I would hope so. Otherwise all those night will have been for naught…" Helena trailed off as Myka moved closer, smothering the rest of her sentence. The two remained locked in an embrace until the floor creaked, startling the two apart. Turning swiftly, Myka locked eyes with a traumatized looking Claudia.

"Do pick your jaw up, dear," Helena said impatiently, "You look like a codfish."

Claudia coughed uncomfortably.

"Yup, going now," Claudia turned on her heel rapidly.

"Claud, wait!" Myka called.

"No," Claudia turned around, "don't get me wrong! I'm fine with it. Totally okay with it. I see nothing wrong and everyone should have the chance to love who they love and I'm trailing off subject like normal. Fabulous."

Myka smiled sympathetically. "Have a nice day dear. We won't do it again."

Helena frowned. "We won't?"

Claudia rolled her eyes and grinned. "You ever been in her room, HG? Don't believe it."

"Claudia, out," Myka ordered. With a wink in Helena's direction, Claudia left the room. A moment later, they heard the telltale sound of Claudia's foot in Pete's back and Pete tumbled into the room.

"Luckily for you guys," Claudia started, "Pete doesn't mind."

"Pervert," Myka muttered and left the room. HG gave him a look, then left.

"Come on Claudia," Pete whined. "Was that necessary?"

"Go back to your computer, Mr. Smooth," Claudia answered, then left in the other direction.

* * *

"Ah, I will never ever tire of the thrill that is flying. The grappler is one matter, but an airplane… If only I had thought of it first!" Helena exited the plane with a spring in her step, setting foot in the Colorado airport for the first time.

Myka shook her head tiredly. "You're like a child, Helena, seeing a new world."

"Believe me, Myka, if you were me, you'd be even worse. I am handling my emotions very well, thank you."

"Sure you are, sure you are," Myka said. "And if you don't stop 'handling your emotions,' your going to make my mouth fall off from laughing."

"You're not funny in the least."

"You are incorrigible."

"And you, dearest," Myka said teasingly, "Have a shoddy sense of humor."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Never."

Helena held up a warning finger. "Now you wait just a goldarn moment, Myka."

"Goldarn? You're practically asking for it."

"You're worse than Pete."

Myka's smile left her face.

"You take that back," she said.

An abnormally large grim broke across HG's face.

"Never!" And with that, Helena sprinted away. Shaking her head, Myka followed.

* * *

"So this is the street on which you grew up?" Helena asked, walking briskly down the sidewalk of Myka's childhood town.

"Mhm," Myka mumbled, her mouth covered by a red scarf.

"You know, I lived down the street from the bookstore, when I was little."

Myka lowered the fabric away from her mouth. "Did you now?"

"Yes, it was owned by a man named…Burnham. Will Burnham. What fond memories I have of that store. When our father was working and our mother was at some social call or another, Charles used to take me. There was a small wooden stool in the back room near the fantasy section…" Helena trailed off.

"We have a wooden stool, if you'd care to regress," Myka said enticingly. Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew directly into the pair's faces. Helena coughed as Myka moved her scarf back up to cover the rest of her face.

"If you can pull a pink lack frock out of the back, I'd consider," Helena said wistfully. "What a pretty dress that was… I lost two of the buttons. My mother was furious. 'Were you out playing with the boys again?' She'd say. And I'd smile and say, 'No mother,' as I tucked a wrench behind my petticoats.'"

A glint appeared in Myka's eyes.

"Now is when you can feel free to laugh," Helena prodded. The glint turned feisty.

"I don't feel like laughing. Just kiss me please," Myka said, a coy tone to her voice.

HG raised her eyebrows.

"This is a new development in the storyline. Has the cold gotten to your head?" With a dangerous look in her eyes, Helena slowly unwrapped the scarf from around Myka's neck, then wound it around their waists, pulling Myka close.

"I don't know," Myka whispered. "Maybe."

"One day," Helena murmured into Myka's neck, kissing up to her jawline, "I'm going to take you to the mountains of Wales."

* * *

**A/N: **Suggestions? Comments? Critiques? All are welcome.  
This one's for you, Phoenix-cry!


	2. Chapter 2

Helena and Myka stopped in front of a small storefront. The sign above read, "Bering and Sons."

"Well, here goes nothing," Myka said, stepping forward to push open the door.

"Wait!" Helena said.

"What?"

"I thought you only had a sister. Tracy, was it?"

"Very perceptive of you," Myka smirked. "Yes, Tracy. The official story is that it made the store sound more professional and haughty. I still hold that my father always wanted a son. And hell, for the tomboy I was, I guess I could have passed for one."

HG made a sound of agreement.

"That was uncalled for," Myka playfully chided as she pushed open the door. A bell rang somewhere. A nice metal one, Helena remarked. Not like any of the chain stores with the obnoxious electronic sounds. Taking a deep breath, she smelled the musty scent of old paper.

"Some things never change," she and Myka said in unison, then smiled, sharing a quiet laugh. The creaking of old stair alerted the two to Myka's mother, bustling around wearing an old stained apron and an older warm smile.

"Myka, sweetheart! Come 'ere!" Jeannie Bering enveloped her daughter in a hug. "Warren! Come down, Myka's here!" She turned back to Myka, "And who's your little friend here?"

"Helena Wells," HG held out her hand and Jeannie shook it. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And you," Jeannie said excitedly. "It's so good to know that Myka actually has some friends who are, well… girls..."

"Mom!" Myka cut her off.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear. It's just, you were never very feminine and-"

"Well, your daughter here lacks nothing in the social department," Helena said, saving Myka's remaining sanity. Myka sighed, grateful.

"Let me tell you," Jeannie started in the way that gossipy mothers do, "My Myka could never wear a dress without pants underneath. She was always tinkering with something or another, stringing tiny gears on her necklaces, keeping a little dictionary in her purse next to the screwdrivers..."

"Did I hear someone say Wells?" A gruff voice sounded from the stair well. "We have Wells in the shelves on the left. Have you read_ the Time Machine_?" He looked at Helena expectantly. Helena was slightly taken aback.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I believe I have."

"Good." Warren said, "Good that Myka has well read friends."

"You don't know the half of it," Myka muttered.

"What was that, honey?" Jeannie asked.

"Yes, speak up!" Myka's father added.

"Nothing!" Myka said as Helena said, "Indeed."

"So tell me, Myka, what are we missing?" Myka's mother prodded.

Myka sighed and shot an accusatory glare at HG, who held up her hands in a sign of surrender.

"What your daughter means to say is that I have read all of HG Wells. In fact, I consider myself somewhat of an expert," Helena said slyly.

"Is that so?" Myka's father challenged. "Tell me, when was his birthday?" Myka suppressed the urge to correct her father.

"Why, the 21st of September, of course. 1886," Helena responded promptly. Myka made mental note of that fact and stored it away for later. It was a shame she had missed it this year.

"Death date?" Myka's father prompted.

Helena paused. "I-I… I don't know."

"Hrrmph. I knew it."

"Dad," Myka said with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Stop that. I'll vouch for her. She knows more than you do about HG Wells. Trust me on this one."

"Obivously not."

"Myka, Warren, not now…" Jeannie warned. "We have a guest."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Helena soothed.

"It most certainly is not alright!" Myka exploded.

"Day in and day out since I first said I was coming, he has been nothing but condescending and rude!"

"Missy, you have no right to speak to your father like that-"

"Father," Myka cried sarcastically, "_She is HG Wells."_


	3. Chapter 3

The room went silent. Helena gave a nervous laugh.

"You jokester," Helena said nerviously.

"No, Helena. It's alright for them to know. Now they do."

"Myka, you're crazy. Jeannie," Myka's father turned, "Your daughter is crazy."

"Now, Myka, I know it's exciting to have a new friend," Jeannie Bering started, "But…" Myka took a deep breath.

"Dad, I'm not crazy. Mom, it's not like that."

"Jeannie," Warren started again, but was cut off. Helena took a step forward.

"She's not lying, you know," Helena said, her accented voice ringing in the small area.

"Dear, are you feeling alright?" Myka's mother took Helena's hand. "It's cold out and you've had a long day." Helena politely moved her hand out of Jeannie's grasp and smiled with no warmth.

"I can see where you might not belive us," Helena tried again, but as interrupted.  
"You 'can see, eh?'" Myka's father imitated Helena's English accent. "Jeannie, this woman's a bad influence on your daughter. Everyone knows that HG Wells was"

"A man," Helena interrupted. Warren was silenced. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Perhaps you should come back another time," Jeannie said quietly, trying to Shepard Myka and Helena out the door.

"No, mom-" Myka protested.

"Myka," Helena insisted quietly, "Perhaps you should come back another time." Helena put her hand firmly on Myka's shoulder, steering her towards the exit. Myka looked at her with sad eyes. "Come love," she whispered too low for anyone else to hear. "We're going. Nice meeting you," she said coolly in the direction of Myka's parents as the bell rang again, signaling their exit.

* * *

"There now, love, don't cry." Helena and Myka sat on a park bench, blocks away from the offending bookstore. Myka lay her head on Helena's shoulder, quietly trying to prevent her tears from making an appearance.

"I'm not crying," Myka choked. Helena's warm finger wiped away a spot of moisture on the woman's cheek. "That's a melted snowflake."

Helena brought her finger to her lips and tasted the drop. It was salty.

"There there. It'll be alright." Coming her fingers through Myka's wavy hair, she repeated herself over and over. "There there." When Myka's body stopped shuddering, Helena tipped Myka's chin towards her own. "Let's find a place to get something hot to drink, shall we?" Myka stood, not making eye contact. HG understood, and took her hand. Together, they walked down the street, looking for a coffee shop. When they found one that looked suitable, they entered. Myka sat in one of the booths by the window and Helena went to order the drinks.

"What can I get ya?" A young woman of about twenty manned the counter.

"One coffee with cream and one tea please. Black."

"What, Brits don't drink coffee?" Helena internally rolled her eyes.

"As is everything else, beverage choice is a matter of personal preference." The waitress made some sort of unintelligible sound and went into a back room. HG made her way to where Myka sat and took the seat across from her. Myka looked up.

"I know," Helena said.

"You know? What do you know?"

"You don't drink cream, I know. But, cream is good for the soul. Listen to the Victorian woman."

"My soul is intact."

"You look like your soul has developed pneumonia."

"I'm not upset."

"Sorry?" Helena asked.

"I know you're going to ask eventually. I'm not upset."

"Oh, yes, that seems likely."

"Really, HG. I'm used to it by now. Wanna know about my childhood? Well, there it is. That's how I grew up; overbearing father, wimpy mother and all." Helena said nothing. "I'm sorry I even brought you here. You didn't need to experience that." Myka waited. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

The waitress brought two steaming mugs over to the table.

"No," Helena said matter-of-factly.

They drank their respective drinks in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Myka was the first one to break the silence, hours later in the airport once more.

"I suppose I should thank you." Helena shook her head.

"My mother always said not to thank people for doing what is required of them." Myka looked at her lap.

"I wish it wasn't required of you."

"I don't. Of course, I don't mean to say that I like it when you're sad. Quite the opposite, truly. But, it's nice to be needed again. I haven't been needed like that since, since…"

"Since Christina," Myka finished.

"Not to say that you're like an eight year old," Helena amended quickly. Myka gave a wan smile.

"I know what you mean." HG gave a sigh of relief.

"You know, for a writer, I have an awfully hard time expressing my thoughts about you." Myka looked off into the distance.

"It's because you deal with fiction… This is all so very real…" Helena checked the departure board.

"We have the better part of an hour until the airplane arrives. Try sleeping for a while."

"I can't sleep. I'm too tired."

"Ah, sleep," Helena mused as she took a comb out of her purse and began to untangle Myka's hair. "Riddled with contradictions. A dream is the one place we have no control, yet walk along without a thought edgewise. Go sleep, Myka. You've had enough control for the time being." Eventually, Myka closed her eyes and didn't open them for some time.

When she awoke, fully conscious, she was in her seat on the plane. With a start, she realized the seat next to her was empty. Helena, and Helena's purse, was gone. Looking around, Myka couldn't remember waking up at the gate. She chalked it up to the molasses like consciousness sliding around in her head. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she stood and walked along the aisle of the plane, getting nervous. Where could Helena have possibly gone? The bathroom, Myka decided. She hadn't seen Helena use a restroom since the coffee shop, hours ago. With a deep breath, Myka returned and settled back into her hard airplane seat, sleep overtaking her soon after.

* * *

HG Wells gasped for breath as the hand around her windpipe grasped tighter and tighter. She kicked out, but her leg met air as her assailant swerved out of the way. "What do you want?" She managed to choke out before a hard object hit the side of her head and she blacked out.

Helena woke up on the hard bathroom floor, head and back aching alike. She muttered a string of curses sure to visibly upset anyone from the 1800s, but elicit laughter from anyone in "present day." Fixing her blazer and picking up her purse, she walked out of the lavatory as the fasten seatbelt blinked on and the pilot announced the landing. Calmly, she ook her seat next to Myka, who was stirring.

"Helena?" She asked sleepily, not opening her eyes.

"Myka, love, I'm sorry but you're going to have to wake up. I have… I think Claudia would call it a ping?" Myka shot up immediately.

"Did someone call your Farnsworth?"

"It was more of a… physical greeting," Helena said tentatively. Myka rubbed the sleep from her eyes and noticed the small bruises forming on the side of Helena's neck.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" She held up a hand to trace the dark spots. "Did you see a face?" Helena shook her head no.

"It was a man, that is for sure. Six foot one, perhaps. Muscular. Raspy voice." Myka sifted through her purse, looking for her Farnsworth. The moment she had wrapped her fingers around it, the device buzzed. Once opened, Pete's face filled the spherical screen of the small rectangle.

"Pete," Myka said a little too loudly, "I have urgent-"

"Yeah, it's going to have to wait. Claudia's gone."

"What?" Myka and Helena said in unison."

"Leena was the last one to see her this afternoon."

"So can we talk to Leena?" Myka asked annoyedly.

"Hold on." The scene in the viewer shifted upside-down, then was filled with Leena's face.

"We ate lunch together," Leena said worriedly. "She never mentioned leaving anywhere. Anyway, Artie's in town now looking for her."

"Where did she go after lunch?" Helena asked.

"Up to her room."

"Alright," Myka said rapidly. "We're landing now. Don't leave the warehouse. Don't go to the bed and breakfast. And Pete, when you totally ignore what I just said and go to the bed and breakfast, do not, I repeat do not touch a single thing."

"Got it. Go to the bed and breakfast." Myka pressed her palm to her face in annoyance.

"Pete, did you not hear wha- never mind. We're getting off the plane in a moment. Call us if you get anything else."

"Got it. Kirk and Leena out." Pete's face left the screen, and it went black. Yet, Myka made no move to close the Farnsworth. Carefully, Helena removed Myka's hands from around the metal and closed it heself.

"Come now, Claudia can take care of herself."


	5. Chapter 5

Claudia's room was a flurry of motion when the pair arrived. Leena looked rapidly through files as Pete sifted through Claudia's computer activity. Artie was the only one so far with a lead.

"Todd's gone too," he said the minute they walked in.

"Any note?" Helena asked.

"Don't you think I would have mentioned it if there was one?" Artie said stoically.

"1ST rule of Warehouse 12 was never overlook the obvious, even questions."

"Well isn't Warehouse 12 special."

"Are you kidding me, guys?" Pete said. "Stupid conversations during times of chaos are my thing. Mine."

"All of you be quiet!" Leena shouted at the top of her lungs. The room feel silent. No one had ever heard Leena raise her voice like that. "We have work to do," she added in her normal tone. After a moment, Myka spoke up.

"Pete, how did you get into Claud's computer?" Pete paused.

"I just… sat at it and started looking."

"No password?" Myka asked, already knowing the answer. Understanding began to dawn.

"So, wait," Pete said slowly, "If she never locked her computer…"

"And she hasn't been gone long enough for the screen to lock itself…"

"She left unexpectedly, but not too long ago," Artie said suddenly.

"The durational spectrometer!" Pete and Myka said at the same time. Helena cleared her throat and hoisted the large piece of machinery.

"One step ahead of you," she said with a smirk, and switched the device on. Suddenly, two lighted figures began to move in front of them.

"Switch it farther back," Artie demanded.

"Say please," HG said in the most condescending tone she could muster. Myka covered her mouth so no one would see the grin.

"You think you can just walk into my territory and-" Leena stood up. Artie glowered at HG, but stopped talking. HG rewound the machine. A picture of Claudia sat in bed, furiously typing away at her laptop. Suddenly, a lit figure walked right through Pete, who shuddered. It was Todd. Claudia must have heard the noise that the real Todd created, as she swiveled around and grinned. Her lips started to move.

"Todd," Pete translated, "I thought you were in… well, I thought you had left." Todd said nothing. He just stared at Claudia. "Dude, are you alright?" Todd took a step forward. "Whoa, man. You're creeping me out." Claudia stood up. Out of nowhere, Todd grabbed her wrist and pulled. Claudia's mouth opened in what looked like a cry of pain. She attempted to pull away, but could not. "Let go of me! What's wrong with you?" Claudia kicked and threw punches with her other hand, but to no avail. Todd picked up a large book from the bedside table. Claudia's eyes widened and her struggling increased. Knowing what was coming, Myka looked away. When she opened her eyes again, Todd had picked Claudia up and was carrying her out of the B&B. The group followed him down the stair and out the door, where he loaded the unconscious girl into the backseat of a car, tied a piece of fabric around her mouth, and bound her wrists and ankles. Then, after strapping her to the seat with the seatbelts, he opened the door to the driver's side and sped away. There was no license plate. Helena flipped the spectrometer off and the scene disappeared.

"This stinks of artifact," Pete said. Helena nodded her head in agreement.

"But..what?"

"To the warehouse!" Pete shouted, and sprinted to the car. The others followed close behind.

When they arrived in the main office, Artie immediately began rifling through stacks and stacks of informational cards as Helena surveyed the inventory lists. Pere and Myka searched on the main computer for any possible clue. After a moment, Myka informed the group, "The artifact was never in the warehouse. Nothing's missing." Suddenly, a high pitched noise was emitted from the computer.

"We have a ping," Helena said quietly, knowing her voice was no substitute for the young girl's.

"That's weird," Pete said, "Nothing's popping up."

"Refresh the page?" Artie suggested. Pete gave him an odd look. "Alright, I give up. No more computers for me." The sound happened again. As the whole group looked on, Claudia's face appeared on the screen. Myka jumped.

"Hey, guys. The whole "if you're seeing this, then I'm insert unpleasant verb here" cliché is boring in the movies, but in this case, I think we can make an exception. I've been kidnapped by, well, I sure hope you know by now. Either way, now you know where I am…or rather, what happened to me. I hope you've been looking for me. If not, consider this a guilt trip. And get on with it! This isn't gonna self destruct or anything, but seriously, get moving. Claudia out." Pete cracked up.

"Best. Kidnapping note. Ever."

"Well, let's get going," HG said with forced cheerfulness. "I bet you anything that Claudia's taping us right now and is going to watch the replay when she's back. Let's give her something to see." Artie didn't even look up. He was still looking through stacks of cards.

"Pete," he mumbled, "Do me a favor and go back to the B&B. Check for anything odd on Todd's body." Pete nodded and left the Warehouse. "Myka, keep looking through Claudia's computer. See what the last thing she did was." He gave no order to Helena, who was expecting such treatment. Ignoring his blatant rudeness, she bent over the screen with her friend.

"Can you believe we just got back from Colorado, and now we're jumping into the next case?" Myka sighed, though had a smile on her face.

"No rest for the weary." HG frowned.

"I thought the phrase was, 'no rest for the wicked.'"

"Either way, we're still up. What does that say about us?" Myka joked. Helena laughed.

"All too much."


	6. Chapter 6

Myka took one look at Claudia's computer and backed away.

"You're more tech savy," she called over her shoulder as she ran with Helena to check Todd's image.

Pete, after failing to even open Claudia's laptop, took the offending device and hi-tailed it to the warehouse. There, he hooked the laptop to Claudia's man computer and began to sift through the information. He sat in front of the computer for hours. Looking through Claudia's hyped-up computer for a specific file was like looking for a needle in a haystack. One out of one million haystacks. In the middle of a hay field.

"It has to be one of these…" Pete said to himself over and over again. A thought crossed his mind and he giggled out loud. Leena, who was sifting through a stack of files a few yards behind him, looked up. Rubbing her sore neck, she inquired as to what was going on. Pete swiveled back.

"Tell me you're not still looking for the history file?" Leena asked dejectedly.

"Oh, yeah." Pete said, stretching his arms. "You know, Claudia should market her hiding technology to teenage boys. She'd make a freaking fortune." Leena rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide a slight grin.

"Have you tried control _f_?" She joked.

"Please. Claudia would never…" Pete froze and began typing wildly, "do something so obvious!" he finished with a shout, as a search box came up.

"Claudia would," Leena said. "She would do the most obvious thing, knowing we'd never guess she would."

"But what if she knew we'd think that?"

"Obviously she didn't think about it too much. But come on – we have work to do."

"Right. Work," Pete said, typing "history" into his search box. A menu popped up. He scrolled through the folder of various actions. "Leena, there's nothing here out of the ordinary…wait… what the hell is she looking for on Ebay-"

"Pete," Artie interrupted, "I think you're done there." Pete laughed.

"Looking out for your pseudo-daughter's privacy, eh? You're on the way to fatherhood faster than you know. What will you be doing tomorrow? Cutting her meat?" Artie's eyes narrowed and Pete quickly turned his attention back to his computer. Noticing a way out, he grabbed his Farnswoth and radioed Myka.

"Hey Myks, nothing on the computer front," he said quickly.

"Nothing for us eith—"

"Hey!" Helena called in the background.

"One second," Myka hastily said to Pete, setting her Farnsworth on the porch. Pete could only hear faint voices as the pair talked out a discovery.

"His hair—"

"How can you te-"

"The picture—"

"—room?"

"Helena, you're a genius!" Myka shouted, followed by a conspicuous silence. Pete silently wished he had a better view.

Suddenly, Myka's face again filled the screen.

"Hey Myks, I know the screen is black and white, but you're looking kinda red," Pete teased.  
"Wha- you can't possibly… oh shut up. Anyways, Helena found a picture of Todd in Claudia's bedroom. She noticed that Todd's hair was shorter."

"Uh…so?" Pete asked.

"So, it means he got a hair cut."

"And we care because…"

"Because," Myka said with exasperation, "Todd was growing his hair out as part of his new persona. Don't you ever read case reports?"

Pete laughed. "Didn't think so."

"You'd be right. But, I still don't get why this matters."

"Did your mother ever read you fairy tales?"

"I'm willing to bet it was nothing compared to the amount you read."

"True. But this is a famous one. Helena knows it."

"Well, if Helena knows it. Try me."

"Girl taken from her home. Secreted away. Hair," Myka said almost teasingly.

"Uhh…" Pete said with increasing annoyance, "Wait, I know this one…"  
"Rapunzel," HG smiled, stepping into view.

"I had it!" Pete shouted.

"Sure you did," Myka said, rolling her eyes. "But anyway, we have to find the artifact."

"Which," Helena interrupted, "would be much easier if we knew what it was."

"Admittedly, I'm with HG on this one," Pete said begrudgingly. Suddenly, there was a tap on Pete's shoulder. Pete shrieked as Leena came up behind him. HG collaped on the ground, laughing until she couldn't breathe.

"Guys," Leena said, a smile plastered on her face, "I think we're forgetting something."

"I think Pete would like us all to forget that little mishap," Myka said between chuckles.

"Ha, ha. Let's all laugh at Pete," Pete said, dripping sarcasm.

"Yes, please!" Helena's voice said through the device, though she was still out of view.

"But seriously guys, we're running out of time. Follow the car with the durational spectrometer before the pattern fades," Leena said, suddenly serious.

"Can do," said Myka, snapping her Farnsworth shut. Pete shut his as well, and after a glare at Leena raced through the umbilicus to meet the women.


	7. Chapter 7

Pete and Myka ran though the umbilicus, passing Lena, who annoyedly dodged Pete's high-five. Pete reached the car first and took the driver's seat. As he turned the key in the ignition, Myka took the seat next to him. Pete began shifted the car into drive and Myka hoisted the spectrometer, which took up far more of her seat than she did, so it was pointing out the front window. The remnants of Todd's getaway vehicle shimmered into existence and began to more forward alarmingly fast. Pete floored the gas pedal in chase of the image.

"Where is she..." he murmured.

"What?"

"Claud isn't shotgun."

"Is she on the floor in back? Can you se- ah! Eyes on the road, I'll take this one!"

Myka squirmed around the spectrometer, opened her window, and stuck her head out. It was then obvious how fast they were going and she said a quick thank you to whoever up there didn't send policemen to middle-of-nowhere land. Maneuvering her neck around, she caught a glimpse of taut rope lying on the back floor.

"Yeah, she's there." Myka pulled her head back in and smoothed her hair down habitually.

"That's not helpful."

"What do you mean that's not helpful. Of course it's helpful, that's something we have to know-what are you saying?"

"Jees, Myks, I know this is very stressful, but I wasn't talking about Claudia, I was talking about your trying to fix your hair after sticking it out the window at 90 miles per hour."

"Oh. Well don't talk about that. Claudia could be in serious trouble."

"And we're going to get her out. She's cool, Myka. She'll probably find us before we know it," Pete soothed.

Myka sighed as Pete drove faster.

* * *

Lena rushed over to the piles of cards listing the Warehouse Artefacts, took a deep breath, and dug in.  
Flexing her fingers amidst the yellowing paper, she felt around for the right gard. A minute later, she emerged, victorious.  
"The Witch's Scissors," she read quietly. "Cut Rumplestilstkin's thread, sliced a poison apple, cut Rapunzel's hair. Effect: Traps mind. Side effect: Grows hair."

The woman flipped open her Farnsworth.

"Myka?"

"Yes?"

"The card says the scissors trap your mind. Not the user - the one who gets the haircut."

"Scissors? What scissors? Pete, did you do this?"

"No no," Lena interrupted, "The witch's scissors. You know, from Rapunzel?"

"You don't say!" Myka heard Helena exclaim in the background.

"Yes," Lena addressed Myka, then turned behind her. "And yes, Helena."

Pete leaned over. "What are we looking for? Big, small...green with glitter?"

"We never had it in our possession, so we have no real record," Lena answered. "Assumably, they're about the size of your han-Pete's hand. Metal, most likely. Probably not tarnished, so silver or gold."

"Thanks, Lena. Pete! Eyes. On. The. Road."

Lena shut her Farnsworth.

"Pete," Myka started. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Nowhere I've been. We've been going in the same direction for forever. And we haven't passed any towns. And I'm kind of hungry."

"I promise you I'll bake you a cake when we have Claudia home safe. We'll have a party."

"With balloons?"

"And streamers."

"And chocolate ice cream?"

"And whipped cream and sprinkles."

Pete smirked.

"What was that?" Myka demanded exasperatedly.

"Nothing..."

They kept driving.


End file.
